


Elegy

by kiyala



Category: DCU, Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Genre: Gen, Post-Movie(s), Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-20
Updated: 2012-07-20
Packaged: 2017-11-10 08:26:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/464230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SPOILERS. Set post-movie. See notes for more details.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Elegy

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
> 
> Post-movie, John Blake is in the Batcave. Bruce Wayne is still alive.
> 
>  
> 
> This wouldn't have been written without the encouragement of girlsinkhearts, so thank you ♥

The cave is dark and damp and gloomy. John has taken to spending most of his time down here lately, exploring everything hidden away in the floors and walls. He calls it the Batcave, because it doesn't feel right to call it anything else. He'd expected countless traps built into the cave to keep intruders out, but the more John explores, the more he realises; this place was never intended to be found by people who weren't already trusted with the secret of Batman's true identity. Before him, the only other people who had known the exact location of the Batcave were Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth.  
  
It's a humbling thought. It makes John wonder if he's really going to do this, if he's really going to take up the legacy. It feels intrusive, and he's already decided to keep his distance from the spare suits he's found. He can't replace the Batman; nobody can. Bruce Wayne died to protect Gotham. John will remember this, will never let himself forget, because he's one of the the very few people who knows it at all. Bruce Wayne will fade into shadows and obscurity while Batman will forever remain a public figure of Gotham. It's an ironic twist on the truth everyone thought they knew, and John likes picking away at it in his mind, likes to wonder what Bruce Wayne would say, if he knew that this was how things ended. John doesn't know the details and will never ask for them, but he knows enough about masks to know that Batman was more of a real person than Bruce Wayne ever was. In the last few months of his life, Bruce—  
  
He doesn't get to finish the thought, sensing movement behind him. He spins and draws his gun in the one, fluid movement. The GCPD gave him the basic skills to survive; he's been training in the Batcave to make himself even better.  
  
Apparently, it's not good enough. The gun is kicked out of his hands by a figure John can't quite see. He balls his hands into fists, ready to fight until the intruder is down, but that's when he hears a voice he will never forget.  
  
"No guns."  
  
It's not Batman's voice, pitched low and gravelly. It's Bruce, quiet and tired and… alive.  
  
"Alright." John raises his hands in the air, once he's confirmed that yes, this is Bruce Wayne standing in front of him. He thinks back on what he knows, remembers the article he read about a dark alleyway, a broken string of pearls and an orphan. It suddenly makes sense and John feels a sharp prick of guilt. "No guns."  
  
Bruce nods in appreciation and then looks around the cave. John expects to see comfort in Bruce's eyes, wistfulness, perhaps, for the sanctuary he's gone without for so long. Instead, there's nothing but tiredness.  
  
"Need better security for the cave entrance, or any old punk will find their way in."  
  
John grins. "Not any old punk. It took a lot of exploring."  
  
"But you found it." Bruce's voice is neutral, and John still doesn't know whether or not he's intruding on something he has no right to. He remains silent until Bruce turns to the main computer, which John still hasn't hacked. "Trying to bring the Batman back?"  
  
"He died," John replies simply. "He died a hero, and it would just be an insult to go out in the suit."  
  
"But you're going to wear a mask." It's not a question, and even in the low light of the cave, John can see just how serious Bruce's expression is. "It's not about hiding. That's not what the mask does. It protects."  
  
John thinks back on his childhood, remembers growing up in the home, and yeah, he realises. It does.  
  
"The computer system is fairly straight-forward once you crack it," Bruce tells him.  
  
John struggles to keep his face expressionless. Bruce is giving him _permission._ He might not be saying it outright, but John can read between the lines. Bruce is not staying, and Bruce is not training him, but he is leaving this up to John. All he needs to do is unravel everything. Bruce is trusting him with the rest.  
  
 _Why aren't you dead?_ John wants to ask. _I saw you. I watched you die._  
  
Instead, he says, "Yes, sir."  
  
Bruce nods, as if to himself, and then makes to leave. Stopping short, he turns towards John again.  
  
"One more thing." He looks John straight in the eyes. "Don't let this define you. Don't let it consume you. I'm sure you're clever enough to figure the rest out yourself, detective."  
  
John nods, the questions still burning at the tip of his tongue.  
  
Bruce steps into the shadows, so that John has to struggle to make out his outline. "You're not going to ask, but I programmed the Bat with auto-pilot. The Batman needed to die. In exchange, I got a clean slate."  
  
"Or two." The fact that John cannot find a trace of Selina Kyle any more suddenly makes sense. He looks away, hiding his grin. "Well, I hope that you—"  
  
When he turns back, Bruce is gone. There's no sign of him anywhere and John stands there for a moment, looking out into the darkness, listening the bats screeching and the water falling.  
  
"Damn, I have _got_ to learn how to do that."


End file.
